SearchSearch for Movies, Events, Plays, Sports and Activities
Select your region
Sign in
Hamburger Menu
Rahul Dholakia
Occupation:Director • Screenplay • Writer
Birthplace:Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Share
About
The winner of National Film Award for Best Direction, Rahul Dholakia is an acclaimed director who is known for making films like Parzania (2007), Mumbai Cutting (2008), and Raees (2017). Before making feature films, the director has made several documentaries like New York Taxi Drivers and Teenage Parents.

Early Life
Born in Mumbai, India, Rahul is the son of Raksha Dholakia and Parry Dholakia who worked as an advertising professional. Rahul has one elder sister named Moha. He attended the Champion School, Mumbai and later went to Jamnabai Narsee School where he completed his schooling. He pursued his bachelor degree in science from St. Xavier`s College.

Whilst he was still studying in college, he started working in an advertising agency named Mora Ava, which was owned by his father. After working for some time with his father he went on to work as a production assistant with Channel 4 in London where he worked on several documentaries. In 1990, he moved to New York to pursue his master`s degree in filmmaking from the New York Institute of Technology and since then he has been shuffling between Mumbai and Corona, California. After completing his studies, Rahul made ran a TV station called TV Asia before eventually making his first feature film Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar Baar (2002), a Hindi-English bilingual film.

Movie Career
As a Director
Rahul Dholakia made his feature film directorial debut with Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar Baar in 2002. The Hindi-English bilingual film featured Jimmy Shergill, Paresh Rawal and Kim Sharma in lead roles. The film is noted for being the first Hindi film that was shot entirely in the United States. Following his debut film, the director took a sabbatical for five years before making his comeback in 2007 with the critically acclaimed film Parzania. The film featuring Naseeruddin Shah, Sarika, Raj Zutshi, Parzan Dastur and Corin Nemec was inspired by the true story of a 10-year-old Parsi boy named Azhar Mody who went missing during the communal riots in Gujarat, 2002. The film, which premiered at the 36th India International Film Festival in Goa not only received wide critical applause but also many laurels including the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Award.

After the huge success of Parzania, the following year, the following year Dholakia wrote and directed one of the 11 stories from the anthology film, Mumbai Cutting. The film, which also had several stalwart directors like Anurag Kashyap, Sudhir Mishra, and Rituparno Ghosh had its world premiere at the ArcLight Hollywood in April 2008. Two years later, Rahul Dholakia directed the Bollywood action thriller film, Lamhaa featuring Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu, Anupam Kher and Kunal Kapoor in pivotal roles. The film received mixed critical reviews and turned out to be an average earner at the box office. His 2017 release include the acting crime thriller Raees starring Shah Rukh Khan, Mahira Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

As a Producer
The director-cum-writer made his production debut in 2005 with Parzania, which was also his directorial venture and his claim to fame.
Peers & More
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Producer
Kunal Deshmukh
Director
Maneesh Sharma
Director
Ayan Mukerji
Director
Family
Raksha Dholakia
Mother
Parry Dholakia
Father
Moha dholakia
Sister
Popular Movies
View All
Agni
Raees
Mumbai Cutting
Parzania
Lamhaa
Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar Baar

Personal Quotes (4)

  • " I always say this , and it applies not only to filmmaking but everywhere, the bigger party should reach out to the smaller party and make them feel comfortable and Shah Rukh Khan did that on the first day (of filming Raees). He invited me to his van to eat with him and I said no I eat with the unit. I have this indie spirit with which I made the film. So Shah Rukh came and sat with the rest of us. "
  • " I get upset when someone writes a bad review. For me that is box office. On Twitter too, you will have a 100 people saying good things but if that one guy writes something bad, I keep thinking about it. I think that is my problem. "
  • " The one day collection of Raees is more than the lifetime collections of all my films! I am still absorbing and understanding that. To me they are just numbers, it is not sinking in. Someone tells me it has made Rs 21 crores on a working Wednesday and I think Parzania made Rs 2 crore. "
  • "You do not intend to make a controversial film, that is not the agenda. Who wants it? It is not worth it with regards to health, money, and risk. But when it becomes controversial, you have to defend your film."
  • Privacy Note

    By using www.bookmyshow.com(our website), you are fully accepting the Privacy Policy available at https://bookmyshow.com/privacy governing your access to Bookmyshow and provision of services by Bookmyshow to you. If you do not accept terms mentioned in the Privacy Policy, you must not share any of your personal information and immediately exit Bookmyshow.
    hut
    List your Show
    Got a show, event, activity or a great experience? Partner with us & get listed on BookMyShow
    Contact today!
    bookmyshow
    Copyright 2025 © Bigtree Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
    The content and images used on this site are copyright protected and copyrights vests with the respective owners. The usage of the content and images on this website is intended to promote the works and no endorsement of the artist shall be implied. Unauthorized use is prohibited and punishable by law.